BlackRock to launch North American Income trust next month

BlackRock plans to float a North American equity income investment trust next month, to be managed by Bob Shearer and Kathleen Anderson.

The group is seeking to raise £100m to list the BlackRock North American Income trust on the London Stock Exchange. It will target a 4% annualised dividend yield and will aim to outperform the Russell 1000 Value Index on a total return basis. The company will predominantly invest in high-quality large-cap quoted companies, employing an active options overlay strategy to enhance income. The managers, Shearer and Anderson, are members of BlackRock's US-based equity income team, which manages $37.2bn.  Jonathan Ruck Keene, chairman of BlackRock's specialist client group, said: "In ...